Selling On Raise Has Taught Me To Be A Smarter Businessman

My Philosophy Of Buying And Selling Cards

I’ve always bought gift cards that are convenient for me. If I don’t feel like typing a lot of gift card numbers, I buy the highest denominations. There have been a few times that I’ve been burned where Cardpool has a limit to a card, like $1000 when I’m holding a $2000 card. Since then, I try to keep the cards $500 and under. Sometimes that does not work because there are vendors that they have a $300 limit. I wish they would lift limits, fees for bulk sellers, and incorporate a flat rate shipping label then they would be a great gift card exchange, but I digress.

There are a few reasons why I want high denomination gift cards. One is because there is less typing. Less typing = less errors. In my last few rounds of gift cards that I have sold on GiftCard Zen, I’ve had typo’s. Recently, I have been straying away from that because Cardpool had some good rates, but I had to mail in the cards. When I mail in cards, I buy the lowest denominations and mail them all in as separate orders so I can get as much of the postage paid, then stuff them all into a large envelope.

My second reason for high denomination cards, both Cardpool and Giftcard Zen pay out the gift cards immediately after they receive the card. I do not need to worry about it because the gift cards go into their inventory. After they pay me, it’s off my books and on theirs, so then I can pay my credit card then rinse and repeat the cycle.

This Is What Raise Taught Me

Remember, Raise is a marketplace to connect sellers (me) to buyers (customers who want discounted gift cards). Nothing is on Raise in terms of inventory it’s with the buyer. Raise’s commission fees just goes into keeping the lights on, SG&A, and loss prevention. It’s this reason why, they don’t need to go to a bank for a loan to bring on inventory, which is something CardCash had to do.

The important lesson when listing on Raise is to be cognizant of the gift card value that you will sell. For instance, I recently used some gift cards for a purchase at Macy’s and it said a 5 card max. Imagine if someone had a $1000 purchase and I only list $50 Macy’s gift cards. Guess what? I will be left holding the cards because that person wouldn’t be able to get a discount on the entire purchase from the 5 card max. On a similar wavelength, if someone wanted to buy $30, listing a $25 gift card would fit the bill because it’s pretty close.

Obviously, you can’t plan for all kinds of purchases, but I will look around. If I’m going to list on Raise I will take a quick look and see what’s listed. If there’s a lot of high denominated cards, I will list lower ones and vice versa. This way there’s a variety of cards listed.